Tuesday, December 06, 2011

Vote For Me (With Volcano Painting)!

I've spent the last 24 hours trying to figure out how to do this, and I think my best bet is to show you pictures of a cool idea to try out with the children in your life as a backdrop to this post of shameless self-promotion. That way, even if you have no intention of voting for me, you'll still click away with something to show for the time you spent here.

Most of us who work with young children have explored the chemical reaction between

vinegar and baking soda to make a volcano. This is the "new" volcano the children made

a couple summers ago.

I'm absolutely stunned to find that I've made the nomination short list for three 2011 Edublog awards, and humbled in the knowledge that this recognition comes from fellow teachers and parents. Thank you.

I've been nominated as "Teacher Tom" in the category of Best Teacher Blog . . .

. . . as "Thomas Hobson" in the category of Best Individual Blog . . .

. . . and as Thomas "Teacher Tom" Hobson in the category of Most Influential Blog Post. I think of the three nominations, I might be most proud of this one.

But yesterday was the first time we've ever tried volcano painting! I started

by spreading a couple pieces of white fabric (these were old curtains)

on the table tops, then turn the kids loose with baking soda, vinegar,

liquid water color, and baby food jars for the kids to use as their own

individual volcanos.

The nominated post is entitled Spoiled Brats, which was written as a follow up to a previous post called The Language Of Command in which I discussed the bad habit many of us grown-ups have of bossing kids around. Since the post was first published in August, it has made the rounds, having been shared on Facebook over 2,800 times at last count, and to this day there are still readers dropping by to have a look at it.

The resulting eruptions, overflowing their containers, then "painted" the

As you can see, however, despite their intense focus on "more vinegar,"

"more baking soda," and "more paint," they still managed to "volcano

paint" the fabric as a bi-product of their scientific exploration. And it did

turn out quite beautiful.

In fact, if you're really into it, you can vote once a day in each category between now and midnight on Tuesday, December 13. This is especially important information for those of you who can't decide for whom you'd like to vote. For instance, I'll likely have new "favorites" each day in several of the categories.

We went through over a pound of baking soda and a gallon of vinegar in

about a half hour. Not bad!

So please vote for me, vote soon, and vote often . . . but if not, at least enjoy some volcano painting!

I put a lot of time and effort into this blog. If you'd like to support me please consider a small contribution to the cause. Thank you!

7 comments:

It is really inspiring to see teachers pursuing their passions. You remind us that inspiration is everywhere; we can receive it from many sources, as long as WE remain open to it. I love that you showcase the brilliance of children!

Tom, a vote for you/your blog/your post is more than what it may first appear...

The more people who vote for you (and any other early years blog), then the more the profile of this education sector is raised within the wider education community.

Also if lots of people vote, then the whole wide education world eventually are going to have to have a rethink about why people read and write blogs and their tremendous value to people who work with children.

So please, even if you only have a couple of minutes this once, then stick in a vote.

Yes!! You get my votes, Teacher Tom/Tom Hobson. Somehow I missed the spoiled brats post, so you'll be up to 2801 readers by the end of today. You're on my favorites list and I hope these awards help more people find you.

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This is my personal blog and is not a publication of the Woodland Park Cooperative Preschools. I put a lot of time and effort into it. If you'd like to support me please consider a small contribution to the cause. Thank you!

About Teacher Tom

I am a preschool teacher, writer, speaker, artist and the author of "A Parent's Guide To Seattle".
For the past 15 years, I've taught preschool at the Woodland Park Cooperative School. The children come to us as 2-year-olds in diapers and leave as "sophisticated" 5-year-olds ready for kindergarten.
The cooperative school model allows me to work very closely with families in a true community setting.
I intend to teach at Woodland Park for the rest of my life. I love the kids and I love the families. It's an incredibly rewarding job.